White Lotus Is Just Schadenfreude Porn for the Professional Managerial Class
"You make money. They exploit me. I exploit you," the manager of the White Lotus resort tells an underling in Season One.
HBO's White Lotus is the latest entry in a formula line which...
Jean Baudrillard’s ‘Simulations’ Haunts the Wachowskis’ ‘Matrix Resurrections’
Staring at Neo in an office building overlooking a simulation of downtown San Francisco, Agent Smith gets meta.
"I know you said the story is over for you, but that's the thing about stories, they...
Will Cancel Culture Age as Poorly as Shock Value?
Cultural aesthetic is always up for renewal.
While much of America had already moved on from cancel culture (and was never really onboard with it in the first place), legacy media has declared it passé.
“I...
Is the Joe Rogan Controversy a Corporate Espionage Campaign Against Spotify?
Thesis: Mass mobilization through social media first targeted political institutions. Mass mobilization through social media is now aimed at financial markets, with operatives inciting pressure campaigns at critical moments for corporations.
Case Study: The media...
These Were Paradox Politics’ Most Popular Stories in 2021
Since launching in February, Paradox Politics has published a plethora of theory, commentary, and reporting. We've interviewed luminaries such as Noam Chomsky and Steven Pinker, scoured Pentagon reports on how the U.S. military will...
Does Mark Zuckerberg Suffer From Main Character Syndrome?
Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse takeover presents a paradox: In capitalizing off Western culture's 'Main Character Syndrome,' is he exhibiting it himself?
By combining social media and virtual reality, the billionaire technocrat is pushing for a future...
Is the Psychedelia Enlightenment Train Just Another Corporate Control Mechanism?
The global economy mirrors an acid trip.
With the ongoing labor shortage, the persistence of meme stocks, and simultaneous emerging markets (including one for psychedelics), a collective euphoria is underway in what has been dubbed...
Florida’s Fake Media Boom Imploded. Locals Are Cackling In the Aftermath
A car blew up outside a semi-abandoned mall in South Florida. Other Florida locals and I smiled as we drove past the scene.
We had good reason for relief. For one, the driver seemed okay....
TikTok’s Main Character Syndrome: American Individualism in the Age of Black Mirror
Main Character Syndrome is the zeitgeist of the post-pandemic moment.
“You have to start romanticizing your life,” TikTok star Ashley Ward urges followers in a now viral video. “You have to start thinking of yourself...
Billionaire Moishe Mana Says He Transformed Meatpacking District But Got Bored of Shopping There
Moishe Mana has a lot in common with Donald Trump.
Although Mana commissioned a mural depicting the former president as the Joker holding a knife to the Statue of Liberty, the two fill similar roles....
